Fire damages vacant house in Syracuse

Lauren Long/The Post-StandardNational Grid representatives talk with members of the Syracuse Fire Department after a fire this evening at 302 W. Beard Ave. in Syracuse.

Update: The fire at a three-story vacant home on West Beard Avenue was intentionally set this evening, said Syracuse fire investigator Lt. Tony Morgan. He's still working to determine how it was set. Wood was collected from the back porch for testing, he said.

The fire in the two-family home at 302 W. Beard Ave. was reported at 6:40 p.m., he said. It started on the back porch, went up the back of the house and into a third-floor window.

Firefighters took 20 minutes to put the fire out, Morgan said. Firefighter John Grabowski was burned on his neck when small embers fell from the ceiling. He was treated and released from Crouse Prompt Care.

The fire caused extensive damage to the first-floor kitchen and on the third floor, but the second-floor had little damage, Morgan said. The house is salvageable.

Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse firefighters and police are on the scene of a house fire at 302 W. Beard Ave.

The three-story house has windows blown out on the top floor. The house was reported to be vacant, Onondaga County 911 dispatchers said.